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Tuesday, February 17, 2015

For the first time in like forever, the fans got what they want, the first SQEX mandated action figure translation of this well-known big guy from the Final Fantasy universe. Well, this is his movie version which is a much more modern redesign of the Mr. T -esque character from the game. He's sporting cornrows now instead of the perennial badass trademark, THE Mohawk (correction, it's a cross between that and the 90's High-Top Fade cut).

Mr. Wallace here is the leader of Avalanche back in the day and he's one of the characters who will be forever immortalized in polygon during that epic Train intro of Final Fantasy 7. I'm sure the true fans here will be able to relate with me.

Mr.Wallace here isn't packing much: a Gatling Gun arm, and a pair of alt hands, he's got a stand also but that's a given. I think what sets him aside is his size, needless to say he's the tallest and bulkiest figure so far from the Play Arts Kai Advent Children line.

Oh WOW, That was so COOL. Pew Pew Pew

His cyborg forearm can be detached to equip the Gatling Gun and it's really, really cool-looking. I supposed it will definitely awe the inner 9-year old in you.

Another highlight of Barret for me is his poseability minus the stand. He's got great balance though i fear his feet ball joints can get pretty loose easily since he's very top heavy. If you can angle the gun though you can pull off Ground-to-Air machine gun poses such as these...

Details on his body are well-rendered though i still hate that oily sheen on his skin that is made much more visible by his dark body finish. That sheen though worked wonders on the details of his jacket, which is made of soft PVC by the way so pose his arms to your heart's content.

Additionally, the butterfly joints are replaced by ball joints so it should be sturdier especially if you're going to move his arms a lot. I was not able to try if it can hold overhead aiming poses since it's a ball joint but maybe you can pull it off. Post pics if you can.

A personal gripe though is the matte water-color like dry finish of his pants. I feel like it's half done, the artists probably went "F#!k it" while coloring him, Hehehe. The details of his fishnet shirt though looks good and well painted, further emphasizing the starkness of his pants.

Another issue with the figure was the terrible likeness from the base character. I don't think he looks like Barret at all. He seemed to be some random male rapper...and not even a good one if you ask me to come up with a deeper backstory. He could have sported an expression closer to an MMA fighter but alas, whatever character they want to project was lost when they created his awful face sculpt.

I think that's the main turn-off for fans which explains why he's the least favorite figure among the new FF releases.

However, it is crucial you get Barret if you're completing the FF line. Cloud + Barret + Tifa would be a solid display piece IMO. Personally, he's my favorite so far from the PAK Advent Children line since he's really playable. I highly recommend you get him and for sure you'll know what i mean.

"CRACK!" - Barret's knuckles

Orrrrrr, Mr.Wallace here will have to force you to buy him, your call fanboy...